Bean and ground coffee carrier member for use in coffee systems

ABSTRACT

A coffee grinder assembly including a housing, a coffee bean hopper, a motorized grinder and at least one bean carrier member containing a chamber having a predetermined volume slidably disposed in the housing between a retracted position wherein the chamber communicates with the hopper and is isolated from the grinder and an extended position wherein the chamber communicates with the grinder and is isolated from the hopper. The member contains an inlet aperture for communication between the chamber and the hopper when in the first position and an outlet aperture for communication between the chamber and the grinder when in the second position. The chamber contains a floor which slopes downwardly toward the outlet aperture at a negative angle which is greater than the angle of repose of coffee beans to promote the flow of coffee beans from the chamber to the grinder. A flap or lever pivotally connected to the housing is pivoted into contact with a grinder motor starting switch to start the grinder when the member moves from the first to the second position. A spring attached to a rear wall of the housing moves the member slightly forwardly away from the second position to relieve the pressure of the lever from the switch to open the switch after it has been closed so that the grinder will shut down after its timing circuit deactivates the grinder but not so far forwardly as to interrupt communication between the chamber and the grinder.

.Iadd.This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/694,641 filedMay 2, 1991, now abandoned and a Reissue of Ser. No. 07/342,247 filedApr. 20, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,510. .Iaddend.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to means for delivering a predeterminedvolume of coffee beans to a grinder and to means for delivering apredetermined quantity of ground coffee to coffee brewing apparatus.

Such means are, generally speaking, well known in the prior art. As tocoffee bean dispensers, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,845 issuedto S. E. Richeson on Mar. 25, 1958 which discloses means for deliveringa preselected volume of whole coffee beans to a grinder. This devicecontains an adjustable sidewall for delivering beans from anintermediate chamber to a grinder which is operated manually by asee-saw arm to close an upper plate to seal off a hopper from thechamber while opening a lower plate to release a measured quantity ofbeans from the chamber to the grinder and vice versa. See also U.S. Pat.No. 3,967,546 issued to S. Cailliot on Jul. 6, 1976; U.S. Pat. No.4,188,863 issued to L. Grossi on Feb. 19, 1980; and U.S. Pat. No.3,327,615 issued to W. S. Swan on Jun. 27, 1967 which disclose stillother examples of devices for the precision metering of coffee beans togrinders.

As to ground coffee metering apparatus, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,521issued to W. L. Brumfield on Oct. 25, 1988. In this system, a brewingreceptable is removably connected to a U-shaped plate so as to bemovable with the plate as the latter slides back and forth to meter outground coffee. The coffee is dispensed from a hopper through a verticalchute onto the sliding plate and spills under a vertically adjustableforward plate or lip into the receptacle. A knob is used to raise andlower the lip to increase or decrease the rate of flow of the coffee asit spills into the receptacle. A tension spring biases the sliding plateand receptacle toward a forward position in the housing of the system.The receptacle handle is manually pushed rearwardly in opposition to thespring bias to meter coffee into the receptacle.

These prior art assemblies are relatively complex in construction. Also,they do not make allowance for the bridging of coffee across an outletcaused by the flow resistance of either ground or whole bean coffeewhich is expressed in terms of the angle of repose thereof. Moreover,none of these systems are adapted to operate in conjunction with moderncoffee grinders which are adapted to operate for a predetermined periodof time after starting through the use of well known grinder timingcircuits.

By means of my invention, these and other difficulties encountered inprior art whole bean and ground coffee dispensing for metering selectedquantities thereof to a grinder or brewer apparatus, respectively, aresubstantially overcome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of my invention to provide a novel coffee bean carriermember for use in a coffee grinder assembly for delivering apredetermined volume of beans to a grinder of the assembly.

It is a further object of my invention to provide means for delivering apredetermined quantity of ground coffee from a ground coffee source to abrewing means such as a brew basket or the like.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a coffee bean andground coffee carrier member for delivering a predetermined volume ofeither coffee beans or ground coffee to a grinder or brew basket,respectively, wherein the volume can be changed.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a coffee bean carriermember for a coffee grinder assembly for delivering a predeterminedvolume of beans to a grinder while, at the same time, operating meansfor activating the grinder.

Briefly, in accordance with my invention, there is provided a coffeebean proportioning means for a coffee grinder assembly which includes ahousing and a motorized grinder disposed in the housing which defines aninlet port for receiving whole beans to be ground. The assembly alsoincludes a bean hopper mounted on the housing which defines an outletport and a bean carrier member defining a chamber therein for storing apredetermined volume of beans. The member contains an inlet aperture andan outlet aperture and is disposed in the housing for linear movementbetween a first position wherein the chamber communicates with thehopper through the inlet aperture and is isolated from the grinder and asecond position wherein the chamber communicates with the grinderthrough the outlet aperture and is isolated from the hopper. Lastly, theassembly includes means for moving the member between the first andsecond positions.

These and other objects, features and advantages of my invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and attached drawings upon which, by way of example, only apreferred embodiments of the invention is explained and illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front elevation view of a grinder assembly for grindingboth regular and decaffeinated coffee beans which includes a pair ofvolume adjustable bean carrier members with a portion of the front coverof the assembly torn away for internal viewing purposes, thusillustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 2 shows a partially full and partially cross-sectional elevationview of the grinder assembly and bean carrier members of FIG. 1 with thecross-sectional portion being as viewed along cross-section lines 2--2of the latter figure.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional plan view of the bean carrier members ofFIGS. 1-2 as viewed along cross-section lines 3--3 of FIG. 2 and withcertain missing parts of FIG. 2 replaced.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional elevation view of a portion of thegrinder assembly and bean carrier members of FIGS. 1-3 as viewed alongcross-section lines 4--4 of FIG. 3 and with certain missing parts ofFIG. 3 replaced.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the bean carrier members of FIGS.1-3.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of one of the tiltable end platescontained in the bean carrier members of FIGS. 1-5 for permittingadjustment in the volume of whole beans to be carried in the members.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a sloping floor disposed in each ofthe members of FIGS. 1-5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawing figures, there is shown, in one preferredembodiment of my invention, a coffee grinder assembly 2 which includes ahousing 4, a motor operated coffee grinder 6 of any suitable typedisposed in a lower end portion of the housing, and a coffee beanstorage hopper 8 formed in an upper end portion of the housing. Thegrinder 6 is positioned so as to deliver ground coffee into aconventional brew basket 10 which is removably connected by means ofrunners or channels 12 to an underside of the housing 4. When filledwith the desired amount of ground coffee, the brew basket 10 can bemanually withdrawn from the channels 12 and placed in a coffee brewingapparatus, not shown, for brewing of the coffee, in the usual, wellknown manner.

The assembly 2 also includes a pair of coffee bean carrier members 14aand 14b, each of which define a chamber 16 (FIG. 2) adapted to hold apredetermined volume of beans delivered through an inlet aperture 18from an outlet port 20 of the hopper 8. Each of the carrier members 14aand 14b also define an outlet aperture 22 located in a sloping floor 23preferably below its respective inlet aperture 18 for delivering coffeefrom the chamber 16 to an inlet hopper or port 24 of the grinder. Whilethe inlet and outlet apertures 18 and 22 can be transversely offset fromone another if desired, placing them in vertical alignment as in thepresent example facilitates cleaning and visual inspection of theinterior of the members 14a and 14b. The negative slope of the floor 23of each of the members 14a and 14b and the valleys between them shouldbe at least be as great as the angle of repose of the type of coffeebeans to be used in the chamber 16 to promote flow of the beans out ofthe chamber 16 to the grinder 6 when desired. Since the angle of reposeof oily whole coffee beans is typically about 22 degrees, I recommendthat the negative angle of slope of the valleys of the floors 23 be atleast that great. To accomplish this minimum angle of slope of thevalleys, the broad surfaces of the floors 23 should preferably be on anegative angle of slope of at least 30 degrees. The members 14 areslidably mounted in a container assembly 26 which is, in turn, connectedto and suspended from a lower end portion of the hopper 8.

The members 14a and 14b are in the form of elongated boxes ofrectangular cross-section and are slidably disposed on a floor of thecontainer 26 between side walls 28 and a dividing wall or partition 30.The container 26 is connected to and suspended below the hopper 8. Theoutlet port 20 and the interior of the hopper 8 are divided into twosections by a vertically extending dividing wall 32 so that both regularand decaffeinated coffee beans can be separately stored and selected forgrinding and brewing as desired. A floor 34 of the container 26 definesa rectangular opening 36 over the grinder inlet hopper 24. The opening36 is transversely offset from the hopper outlet port 20 such that whenthe members 14a and 14b are in a first retracted position as shown infull in FIG. 2, the hopper outlet port 20 registers with the inletapertures 18 so that beans will flow into the chambers 16. In this firstretracted position, the chamber 16 communicates with the hopper 8 whilethe outlet apertures 22 of the members are completely out of registrywith the container opening 36, whereby the chambers 16 are isolated fromthe grinder inlet port 24.

By pushing either of a pair of plungers 38 inwardly to a position asshown in phantom at 38' in FIG. 2, the corresponding member 14a or 14bwill be moved longitudinally rearward in the housing 4 to a secondposition wherein its corresponding outlet aperture 22 registers with theopening 36 to dump a predetermined volume of beans from the chamber 16into the grinder inlet hopper 24. Whenever one of the outlet apertures22 is in communication with the grinder inlet hopper 24, thecorresponding inlet aperture 18 should be completely out of registrywith the hopper outlet port 20, whereby the corresponding hopper 8 andchamber 16 will be isolated from one another.

The volume of the chambers 16 may be of any predetermined fixed size asdesired in order to obtain the desired portion of ground coffee from thegrinder 6 for brewing in the basket 10. However, it is particularlyadvantageous to be able to vary the volume of the chambers 16 to suitthe needs of different users as, for example, when grinding differentkinds of coffee in successive batches or when providing differentbatches of ground coffee for brewing at different strengths. This isaccomplished in the present example by means of a pair of tiltable endwalls 40 located in each of the members 14 on opposite sides of thevertically aligned inlet and outlet apertures 18 and 22. Each of the endwalls 22 are tiltable or pivotal about pivot pins 42 which extendthrough outside and inside flanges 44a and 44b and sidewalls 46 of themembers 14a and 14b. Pins 48 located below each of the pivot pins 42 arefixedly attached to each of the flanges 44b and extend through adifferent circular, arcshaped slot 50 in the inner sidewalls 46 of themembers 14a and 14b. The pins 48 friction fit within the slots 50 topermit manual adjustment of the inclination of the end plates 40 tochange the volume of the chamber 16, whereby the pins 48 will travelalong the arc of the slots 50 as the plates 40 are tiltably adjusted.Otherwise, when not being adjusted, the pins 48 hold their positions inthe slots 50 by friction to maintain the end walls 40 at the desiredangle of tilt. To promote the complete filling of the chambers 16 withbeans, I recommend that the acute angle of tilt of the plates 40relative to horizontal never be adjusted so as to be less than thetypical angle of repose of the beans to be carried therein. The upperextent of the slots 50 may be established at this minimum angle relativeto horizontal to assure that such an adjustment can not be made.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2-3, it will be observed that, asthe plunger 38 and member 14a are pushed rearwardly in the container 26to dump beans from the chamber 16 through the opening 36 into thegrinder 6, an upper inside edge portion of the member 14a contacts alever 52 (FIG. 2) which is pivotally attached on an upper end portionthereof to an upwardly extending rear end portion of the container 26.Such contact forces the free end of the lever 52 to tilt upwardly todepress a spring return grinder motor start switch 54 to activate thegrinder 6. Typically, coffee grinders of the prior art utilize a springreturn motor start switch as part of a latching and timer circuit,whereby momentary closure of the start switch activates a relay operatedlatching circuit which maintains an operating potential on the grindermotor until a timer device opens following a preselected time sufficientto complete the grinding operation, even though the start switch hasreturned to the off position following momentary closure. Latching andtimer circuits for accomplishing this result are well known in thecoffee grinding prior art and are suitable for use with the grinderassembly of the present example. However, it is necessary when employingsuch latching and timer circuitry to provide means for disabling thegrinder motor activating means or lever 52 following the momentaryclosure of the switch 54 so that the switch 54 will not remain closed tokeep the grinder in operation after the timer circuit opens. Should thishappen, the grinder 6 will continue to run so long as one of the members14a or 14b remains in the full rearward position in the housing 4.

One such disabling means is shown in the present example and includes acoiled spring 56 mounted on a removable back plate 58 so as to projectagainst a rear edge of the dividing wall 30. Under such conditions, thespring 56 is held in a slight degree of compression. Now, as one of themembers 14a or 14b moves rearwardly sufficiently to engage the lever 52to close the switch 54, the spring 56 is further depressed by an insideedge of the sidewall of the member. Upon release of the correspondingplunger 38, the now fully compressed spring 56 expands and urges themember 14a slightly forwardly in the housing 4 sufficient to allow thelever 52 to drop away from and disengage the start switch 54 but not sofar forwardly as to interrupt communication between the chamber 16 andgrinder inlet port 24 through the opening 36 and the correspondingoutlet aperture 22. As a result, the motor start switch 54 isimmediately allowed to open following its closure by the lever 52 uponrelease of the corresponding plunger 38 by the operator.

While the present example of the invention illustrates the use of twobean carrier members in a single grinder assembly, it will beappreciated that only one such bean carrier member may be employed ifdesired. Similarly, any desired number of such members greater than twocan also be employed in a side-by-side arrangement although it may benecessary in that case to employ additional biasing springs such as thespring 56, additional spring return motor start switches wired inparallel with and similar to the switch 54, and additional switchactivating means or levers similar to the lever 52 to operate theadditional switches. In addition, the invention may be used inassociation with the newer combination grinder/brewer assemblies nowavailable. Moreover, a bean carrier member of the present example may beused as a means for delivering a predetermined quantity of ground coffeedirectly to brewing means such as the brew basket 10 provided that thenegative angle of slope of the floor 23 and its valleys is adjusted soas to be at least as great as the angle of repose of ground coffeeplaced in the chamber 16. In the case of a ground coffee meteringdevice, I recommend that the negative angle of slope of the floor 23 beabout 45 degrees.

Although the present invention has been explained with respect tospecific details of a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it is notintended that such details limit the scope and coverage of this patentotherwise than as specifically set forth in the following claims.

I claim:
 1. Coffee bean proportioning means for a coffee grinderassembly comprisinga housing, a motorized grinder disposed in saidhousing and defining an inlet port for receiving whole beans to beground, a bean hopper mounted on said housing and defining an outletport, a bean carrier member defining a chamber for storing apredetermined volume of beans, said member having an inlet aperture andan outlet aperture and being disposed in said housing for linearmovement between a first position wherein said chamber communicates withsaid hopper through said inlet aperture and is isolated from saidgrinder, and a second position wherein said chamber communicates withsaid grinder inlet port through said outlet aperture and is isolatedfrom said hopper, said member further comprisinga box partially definingsaid chamber, said box having upper and lower surfaces defining saidinlet and outlet apertures, respectively, and a pair of sidewalls, and afloor formed in said box and sloping downwardly toward defining edgeportions of said second aperture, said sloping floor having a negativeangle relative to horizontal which is greater than the angle of reposeof coffee beans to promote the flow of beans from said chamber throughsaid second aperture to said grinder when said chamber is incommunication with said grinder, a pair of end walls pivotally attachedto one of said sidewalls and disposed in said member over said floor todefine end walls of said chamber on opposite sides of said inlet andoutlet apertures, one of said sidewalls containing a pair of circular,are-shaped slots therein, and an adjustment pin connected to each ofsaid end walls, each of said pins projecting through a corresponding oneof said slots for being moved along said slots to tilt said end wallsand thereby adjust the volume of said chamber, and means for moving saidmember between said first and second positions.
 2. The assembly of claim1 further comprising means for activating said grinder upon movement ofsaid member from said first to said second position.
 3. The assembly ofclaim 1 wherein said moving means comprises a plunger connected to anend of said member and projecting at least partially out of saidhousing, said carrier member being linearly translatable between saidfirst and second positions by manual operation of said plunger.
 4. Theassembly of claim 1 further comprising means for adjusting the volume ofsaid chamber.
 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said inlet and outletapertures register with one another vertically, said assembly furthercomprising a container having a second floor upon which said member isslidably movable, said second floor defining an opening therein alignedabove said grinder inlet port such that said outlet aperture opening andgrinder inlet port communicate with one another vertically when memberis in said second position.
 6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein saidcontainer is connected to and suspended below said hopper.
 7. Coffeebean proportioning means for a coffee grinder assembly comprisingahousing, a motorized grinder disposed in said housing and defining aninlet port for receiving whole beans to be ground, a bean hopper mountedon said housing and defining an outlet port, a bean carrier memberdefining a chamber for storing a predetermined volume of beans, saidmember having an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture and beingdisposed in said housing for linear movement between a first positionwherein said chamber communicates with said hopper through said inletaperture and is isolated from said grinder, and a second positionwherein said chamber communicates with said grinder inlet port throughsaid outlet aperture and is isolated from said hopper, and means formoving said member between said first and second positions, means foractivating said grinder upon movement of said member from said first tosaid second position, said activating means comprising a motor startswitch operatively connected to a motor of said grinder, and meansmovably mounted in said housing for operating said switch to start saidgrinder upon contact with said bean carrier member when said member ismoved from said first to said second position for delivery of said beansfrom said chamber to said grinder, and means for disabling saidactivating means upon activating said grinder for permitting saidgrinder to shut down at the end of a predetermined time period, saidswitch operating means comprising a rigid flap pivotally connected onone end portion thereof to said housing such that a free end of saidflap activates said switch upon contact with said member when saidmember is moved into said second position and such that said flap movesaway from said switch upon operation of said disabling means.
 8. Theassembly of claim 7 wherein said moving means comprises a plungerconnected to an end of said member and projecting at least partially outof said housing, said carrier member being linearly translatable betweensaid first and second positions by manual operation of said plunger. 9.The assembly of claim 7 further comprising means for adjusting thevolume of said chamber.
 10. The assembly of claim 7 wherein said memberfurther comprisesa box partially defining said chamber, said box havingupper and lower surfaces defining said inlet and outlet apertures,respectively, and a pair of sidewalls, and a floor formed in said boxand sloping downwardly toward defining edge portions of said secondaperture, said sloping floor having a negative angle relative tohorizontal which is greater than the angle of repose of coffee beans topromote the flow of beans from said chamber through said second apertureto said grinder when said chamber is in communication with said grinder.11. The assembly of claim 7 wherein said inlet and outlet aperturesregister with one another vertically, said assembly further comprising acontainer having a second floor upon which said member is slidablymovable, said second floor defining an opening therein aligned abovesaid grinder inlet port such that said outlet aperture opening andgrinder inlet port communicate with one another vertically when saidmember is in said second position.
 12. The assembly of claim 11 whereinsaid container is connected to and suspended below said hopper.
 13. Theassembly of claim 7 wherein said disabling means comprises a springmounted in said housing in a position to be at least partiallycompressed by said member when said member is moved to said secondposition sufficient to activate said grinder, said spring being adaptedto at least partially relieve its compression by moving said memberslightly away from said second position to disable said activating meanswithout interrupting communication between said chamber and grinderinlet port through said second aperture.
 14. Coffee bean proportioningmeans for a coffee grinder assembly comprisinga housing, a motorizedgrinder disposed in said housing and defining an inlet port forreceiving whole beans to be ground, a bean hopper mounted on saidhousing and defining an outlet port, a bean carrier member defining achamber for storing a predetermined volume of beans, said member havingan inlet aperture and an outlet aperture and being disposed in saidhousing for linear movement between a first position wherein saidchamber communicates with said hopper through said inlet aperture and isisolated from said grinder, and a second position wherein said chambercommunicates with said grinder inlet port through said outlet apertureand is isolated from said hopper, and means for moving said memberbetween said first and second positions, means for activating saidgrinder upon movement of said member from said first to said secondposition, and means for disabling said activating means upon activatingsaid grinder for permitting said grinder to shut down at the end of apredetermined time period, said disabling means comprising a springmounted in said housing in a position to be at least partiallycompressed by said member when said member is moved to said secondposition sufficient to activate said grinder, said spring being adaptedto at least partially relieve its compression by moving said memberslightly away from said second position to disable said activating meanswithout interrupting communication between said chamber and grinderinlet port through said second aperture.
 15. The assembly of claim 14wherein said moving means comprises a plunger connected to an end ofsaid member and projecting at least partially out of said housing, saidcarrier member being linearly translatable between said first and secondpositions by manual operation of said plunger.
 16. The assembly of claim14 further comprising means for adjusting the volume of said chamber.17. The assembly of claim 14 wherein said member further comprisesa boxpartially defining said chamber, said box having upper and lowersurfaces defining said inlet and outlet apertures, respectively, and apair of sidewalls, and a floor formed in said box and sloping downwardlytoward defining edge portions of said second aperture, said slopingfloor having a negative angle relative to horizontal which is greaterthan the angle of repose of coffee beans to promote the flow of beansform said chamber through said second aperture to said grinder when saidchamber is in communication with said grinder.
 18. The assembly of claim14 wherein said inlet and outlet apertures register with one anothervertically, said assembly further comprising a container having a secondfloor upon which said member is slidably movable, said second floordefining an opening therein aligned above said grinder inlet port suchthat said outlet aperture opening and grinder inlet port communicatewith one another vertically when said member is in said second position.19. The assembly of claim 18 wherein said container is connected to andsuspended below said hopper.
 20. The assembly of claim 14 wherein saidactivating means comprisesa motor start switch operatively connected toa motor of said grinder, and means movably mounted in said housing foroperating said switch to start said grinder upon contact with said beancarrier member when said member is moved from said first to said secondposition for delivery of said beans from said chamber to said grinder.21. The assembly of claim 20 wherein said switch operating meanscomprises a rigid flap pivotally connected on one end portion thereof tosaid housing such that a free end of said flap activates said switchupon contact with said member when said member is moved into said secondposition and such that said flap moves away from said switch uponoperation of said disabling means.
 22. Coffee bean proportioning meansfor a coffee grinder assembly comprisinga housing, a motorized grinderdisposed in said housing and defining an inlet port for receiving wholebeans to be ground, a bean hopper mounted on said housing and definingan outlet port, a bean carrier member defining a chamber for storing apredetermined volume of beans, said member having an inlet aperture andan outlet aperture and being disposed in said housing for linearmovement between a first position wherein said chamber communicates withsaid hopper through said inlet aperture and is isolated from saidgrinder, and a second position wherein said chamber communicates withsaid grinder inlet port through said outlet aperture and is isolatedfrom said hopper, means for moving said member between said first andsecond positions, means for adjusting the volume of said chamber, saidadjusting means comprisinga pair of end walls pivotally disposed in saidmember for confining said beans above said second aperture when saidchamber is isolated from said grinder, and means attached to said memberfor tiltably adjusting said end walls to change the volume of saidchamber, the minimum negative angle of tilt of each of said end wallsrelative to horizontal being greater than the angle of repose of saidbeans to promote the filling of said chamber with beans from said hopperwhen said chamber is in communication with said hopper through saidinlet aperture.
 23. The assembly of claim 22 further comprising meansfor activating said grinder upon movement of said member from said firstto said second position.
 24. The assembly of claim 22 wherein saidmoving means comprises a plunger connected to an end of said member andprojecting at least partially out of said housing, said carrier memberbeing linearly translatable between said first and second positions bymanual operation of said plunger.
 25. The assembly of claim 22 whereinsaid member further comprisesa box partially defining said chamber, saidbox having upper and lower surfaces defining said inlet and outletapertures, respectively, and a pair of sidewalls, and a floor formed insaid box and sloping downwardly toward defining edge portions of saidsecond aperture, said sloping floor having a negative angle relative tohorizontal which is greater than the angle of repose of coffee beans topromote the flow of beans from said chamber through said second apertureto said grinder when said chamber is in communication with said grinder.26. The assembly of claim 22 wherein said inlet and outlet aperturesregister with one another vertically, said assembly further comprising acontainer having a second floor upon which said member is slidablymovable, said second floor defining an opening therein aligned abovesaid grinder inlet port such that said outlet aperture opening andgrinder inlet port communicate with one another vertically when saidmember is in said second position.
 27. The assembly of claim 26 whereinsaid container is connected to and suspended below said hopper.
 28. Aportioning device for delivering a preselected portion of ground coffeecomprisinga housing, means for storing ground coffee mounted in saidhousing, a carrier member defining a chamber for storing a preselectedvolume of ground coffee, said member defining an inlet and an outletaperture communicating with said chamber, said member being disposed insaid housing for linear movement between a first position wherein saidchamber communicates with said storing means through said inlet apertureand said outlet aperture is closed and a second position wherein saidoutlet aperture is open and said chamber is isolated from said storingmeans, a sloping floor disposed in said member having a minimum negativeangle of slope at least equal to the angle of repose of ground coffeefor promoting the flow of said ground coffee from said chamber to saidbrew basket, and means for varying the volume of said chamber comprisinga pair of end plates disposed in said member on opposite ends of saidoutlet aperture, said end plates each being pivotally attached to saidmember so as to be tiltable and containing a pin which extends throughan arc-shaped slot in a sidewall of said member, said pin frictionfitting in said slot so as to allow the incline of each said end plateto be maintained once set but being movable along said slot to permitmanual adjustment in the incline of each said plate as desired.
 29. Theassembly of claim 28 further comprising means for activating saidgrinder upon movement of said member from said first to said secondposition.
 30. The system of claim 28 wherein said inlet and outletapertures are vertically aligned in registry with one another tofacilitate cleaning and visual inspection of said member. .Iadd.
 31. Acoffee grinder assembly with a coffee bean proportioning apparatuscomprisinga housing, a motorized grinder disposed in said housing anddefining an inlet port for receiving whole beans to be ground, a beanhopper mounted on said housing and defining an outlet port, a beancarrier member having sidewalls and a pair of end walls at least one ofwhich being adjustably tiltable, said carrier member defining a chamberfor storing a predetermined volume of beans and being disposed in saidhousing for linear movement between a first position wherein saidchamber communicates with said hopper through said inlet aperture and isisolated from said grinder, and a second position wherein said chambercommunicates with said grinder inlet port through said outlet apertureand is isolated from said hopper, means for moving said member betweensaid first and second positions, and means for pivoting said adjustablytiltable end wall to change the volume of said chamber. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The assembly of claim 31 in which both end walls are pivotallydisposed in said member and said pivoting means adjustably tilts both ofsaid end walls. .Iaddend. .Iadd.33. The assembly of claim 31 wherein theminimum negative angle of tilt of each of said end walls relative tohorizontal is greater than the angle of repose of said beans to promotethe filling of said chamber with beans from said hopper when saidchamber is in communication with said hopper through said inletaperture. .Iaddend. .Iadd.34. The assembly of claim 31 in which saidmeans for tiltably adjusting is attached to said member. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. The assembly of claim 31 in which said bean carrier memberfurther has a sloping floor. .Iaddend. .Iadd.36. Coffee beanproportioning means for a coffee grinder assembly comprisinga housing; amotorized grinder disposed in said housing and defining an inlet portfor receiving whole beans to be ground; a bean hopper mounted on saidhousing and defining an outlet port; a bean carrier member defining achamber for storing a predetermined volume of beans, said member havingan inlet aperture and an outlet aperture and being disposed in saidhousing for linear movement between a first position wherein saidchamber communicates with said hopper through said inlet aperture and isisolated from said grinder, and a second position wherein said chambercommunicates with said grinder inlet port through said outlet apertureand is isolated from said hopper; means for moving said member betweensaid first and second positions; and means for adjusting the volume ofsaid chamber, said adjusting means comprising a pair of end wallspivotally disposed in said member for confining said beans above saidsecond aperture when said chamber is isolated from said grinder andmeans attached to said member for tiltably adjusting said end walls tochange the volume of said chamber. .Iaddend.